By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
At first glance, a wrestling match or basketball game starts with the first whistle and ends when the clock hits zero. Win or lose, the night’s over and its time to pack up.
However, one rarely thinks of the extra behind-the-scenes work that makes a sports program possible.
Everyone involved — from the bus driver ferrying athletes between games, to the janitorial staff picking up after — has a role to play.
“I feel it’s pretty important, because if we didn’t get it picked up, it wouldn’t be a very nice place to be. We do our best to get it clean,” said Stevie Boyd, who’s been working at Brown County High School since August.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]He’s one member among many in the janitorial department who are charged with cleaning up after game nights.
“We try our best to get everything as clean as possible and ready for the next day. Students come in and it’s clean,” he said.
Boyd used to be on the other end of the bleachers. He was a member of the football team at BCHS.
His coworker, Linda Satter, shares a similar history and love for the school system. She’s a 45-year Brown County native whose children and grandchildren went to school here, too.
“My granddaughter comes to this school. I want it to be clean for her, and safe, so it has to be done, and someone has to do it,” she said.
Concerning fellow support staff members, Satter believes everyone has an important role to play in keeping the school and sports program running.
“We have to be interconnected. If we weren’t, it wouldn’t work. Everybody has to have a job,” she said.
One of the most pivotal factors in keeping the athletic program moving is the transportation system. Depending on the rival school, overall travel time can be multiple hours.
One such driver, Randy Barrett, has been on the job for roughly nine years. However, he’s been involved in athletic programs for his entire life.
“I just like to help out the kids and make sure they have opportunities that they might not have otherwise. It makes everything easier if they have available transportation,” he said.
Starting out as a teacher in 1971, Barrett has worked for a variety of educational systems throughout Indiana. He also coached a variety of sports and even held a spot on the IHSAA board of directors.
Barrett was even BCHS principal from 1997 to 2003. In 2008, he retired as superintendent of Eastern Greene High School.
“In my experience, which has been a long time, the kids that are involved in extra-curricular activities, whether it’s sports, band or student council, are just so much more successful in life,” he said.
“I’m not saying others aren’t successful, but having a feeling of being part of a smaller family within the school really helps.”
In order to make that work, each member of the athletic program must do their part.
“It’s more than hopping behind the steering while and driving the bus down there and dropping them off,” Barrett said.
“I just think that all of the people involved in the sports program don’t get enough credit for their extra hours. They’re greatly appreciated by the community, but some will never hear that.”
One of the more health-oriented roles falls upon athletic trainer Sara Boyer.
Having graduated with a master’s degree in kinesiology Boyer’s last four years have been spent taking care of the physical and mental wellbeing of BCHS athletes.
“If I see something that maybe they’re doing biomechanically incorrect, I try to correct those so that they don’t sustain injuries. It’s more than just taping and more than just water bottles,” she said.
During a typical game day, Boyer can be seen working with athletes in need of rehab, mobilizing and prepping athletes who will be playing that night, and acting as the on-hand first response aid provider during matches.
However, her job doesn’t only revolve around an athlete’s physical wellbeing.
“My office is a safe space for them to come and talk to me, and part of my job as an athletic trainer isn’t just the physical side of things, but also the mental,” she said.
“If they’re struggling on a psychological level, or something along those lines, it’s part of my job to refer them out for help past what I’m able to handle.”
Late last year, Boyer was chosen as of one three candidates to represent the region for The Newell National Athletic Trainer of the Year Award. While Boyer didn’t get the regional nomination, which went to Columbus North’s Steve Souder, she was still pleasantly surprised.
“It was awesome to be nominated and it was completely out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting any sort of recognition,” she said.
Her love for the job doesn’t come from awards or the weekly paycheck, but from the joy of helping athletes and watching them succeed.
“I try and be as viable as possible and as helpful as possible in guiding them to be the best athletes they can be. When they have a great game, it always puts a smile on my face. When they’re struggling out there, I really get frustrated for them,” she said.
Assistant wrestling coach Jeff Mullins knows the very same highs and lows of school sports as both an instructor and a parent.
Mullins, who’s been a part of Brown County wrestling for 10 years, has had two sons rise through the program and encounter their own struggles and triumphs.
He hadn’t been a wrestler himself. He became hooked after watching his sons in elementary school. He’s become an active part of the program ever since, and an assistant for varsity Head Coach Josh Sparks for the last three years.
“I help with drills, keeping time, keeping them moving, and during tournament time we coach together,” Mullins said.
“Sparks is more technical on the moves, but I push for life lessons. This sport teaches you that you have to get up when you get knocked down.”
He’s been around the program long enough to see some elementary-age wrestlers become adults. That’s humbling, and it’s what the sport’s actually all about, he said.
“Now they have their own kids and they still call you coach and things like that … it’s about them learning lessons in life, because they aren’t all going on to win state championships, but they’re all going to have jobs,” he said.
Mullins believes that performing a role in the Brown County sports program is a lot like the structure of a wrestling team.
“Our philosophy is that even if you’re not a starter, you’re making somebody better. You’re getting better and you’re making someone else better. So if you don’t show up for practice, you’re not only hurting yourself, but others as well,” he said.
“Everybody has a core group they work with, so it’s critical that the athletic department, down to everyone, does their job.”
